Friday, October 28, 2011

The Jackal is a remake of a 1973 movie entitled The Day of the Jackal. Both movies are about an unnamed assassin paid gobs of money to kill a high ranking official. In the original movie, the assassin's target was French president Charles de Gaulle. In the remake, it was the First Lady.

What makes both movies so interesting is how the assassin covers his identity, moving from person to person and murdering whomever to keep said identity secret.

In both movies, he takes up with a gay man, making sure to dispose of the man when he no longer needs him.

The remake is viciously direct when it comes to this. The Jackal, played by BruceWillis, takes up with a gay man in order to hide out. There is a small hint that the two had sex, seeing that the gay man thinks that they are beginning a relationship.

Of course that ludicrous notion dies out in a scene so ridiculous that you can't get mad at what happens.

One could almost look at it as a parody of the many times in the movies where they create a gay character, only to kill him off:

Next week - Something nice and foreign that's just begging for an American remake. I would have posted it this week but I had forgotten about it until this post was half written. I'm not telling you what it is. Tune it next Friday.

Earlier this month, Minnesota Archbishop John Nienstedt sent out word to every church in his diocese to start ad hoc committees in order to push for the state's constitutional amendment against gay marriage. At the time, I wrote that he was going too far in devoting the Catholic Church's tax-exempt resources to an arena - i.e. politics - which may put his integrity and that of the church's in question.

According to a recent issue of the Minnesota Independent, I am not the only one who seems to have a problem with Nienstedt's push:

One lay Catholic who works for a church-affiliated organization, who asked not to be identified for fear of losing their job, told the Minnesota Independent that the organized campaign in support of the marriage amendment was “offensive, divisive and against the image of Christ we see in the Gospels.”

“But honestly after the sex abuse scandal and the cover-ups made by the hierarchy, nothing they do shocks me anymore,” the source said. ”After watching the Catholic Church use funds to pay for their lawyers, pay off victims and now shove through this amendment, I’ve decided to withhold my tithe from the church. I do not want to provide them more money to defend themselves or lobby against me and those I love. Instead, I will give that money directly to services in Minnesota that provide food and housing for the poorest among us.”

The puzzlement that Nienstedt would devote resources to the amendment fight was a constant theme in the article:

Scott Alessi, writing for U.S. Catholic, which is published by a Roman-Catholic community of priests and brothers called the Claretian Missionaries, said Niensted’s decision was “unusual.”

“Nienstedt has made clear that for priests in his archdiocese, fighting to ensure that the state defines marriage in the same way as the church is today’s top priority,” Alessi wrote.

Alessi wondered if anti-gay marriage amendment was the most appropriate use of resources: ”If an archbishop can call upon all his pastors to form grassroots committees, appoint parish leaders, and organize a large-scale effort, is this the issue on which to do it? What if every parish developed an unemployment committee dedicated to helping out of work people in the parish community find jobs?”

The answer to why Nienstedt made this "unusual push" lies in a document which he signed two years ago - The Manhattan Declaration. The Manhattan Declaration was signed by over one hundred and twenty-five members of the religious right and leaders from the Catholic church and it says that signees will not abide by any laws which support abortion or marriage equality.

About Me

Alvin McEwen is 46-year-old African-American gay man who resides in Columbia, SC.
McEwen's blog, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, and writings have been mentioned by Americablog.com, Goodasyou.org, People for the American Way, PageOneQ.com, The Washington Post, Raw Story, The Advocate, Media Matters for America, Crooksandliars.com, Thinkprogress.org, Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, Melissa Harris-Perry, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Washington Blade, and Foxnews.com.
In addition, he is also a past contributor to Pam's House Blend,Justice For All, LGBTQ Nation, and Alternet.org. He is a present contributor to the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post,
He is the 2007 recipient of the Harriet Daniels Hancock Volunteer of the Year Award and the 2010 recipient of the Order of the Pink Palmetto from the SC Pride Movement as well as the 2009 recipient of the Audre Lorde/James Baldwin Civil Rights Activist Award from SC Black Pride. In addition, he is a three-time nominee of the Ed Madden Media Advocacy Award from SC Pride.